Ash and Thunder
by Reizod
Summary: A very short tale about Jackie and Harvar, Rated T for mild language and violence in the last chapter
1. Clouds and Tender

I do not own Soul Eater nor do I intend to garner revenues from use of its characters

Ash and Thunder

By Reizod

---

Chapter 1: Clouds and Tender

---

To serve your meister.

To protect him at all costs.

To be his weapon, comrade and friend, in that exact order.

This is what it means to be a meister's weapon. No matter what I will protect him. I will do all that is necessary to ensure his safety during missions. I will be his rock and compass when he is lost. And, if need be, I will trade my life for the sake of my meister.

This is my creed. My mantra.

I will abide by this mantra until I am no longer fit to be my meister's weapon. If I divert from this path before that day comes I will have failed at that which I was born for.

For that reason, I must never divert. I must never relent. I must destroy all things that would impede my partner and do everything in my power to ensure his success.

Because above all else, we must never fail.

I am Harvar D. Éclair.

---

Harvar stood on one of the many balconies of Shibusen, discerning eyes locked upon the school grounds below. He could see a myriad of students exiting the school all heading to their respective homes. However, there was one in particular that he was focused upon on this warm summer afternoon.

"Kim Diehl" he muttered as he watched her saunter down the stairs to Shibusen. " 'The witch that doesn't destroy'" He shook his head as he watched her make her way to Ox who'd been waiting for her at the bottom of the steps. "Some kind of oxymoron if you ask me."

Ever since the girl had been returned to Shibusen, Harvar had been keeping tabs on her actions around the school. Even if Ox trusted her, she was still a witch, and therefore a danger to all she came in contact with. No doubt, the day would come when she would turn her back on Shibusen, accepting her witch heritage. When that day came Ox would have little defense against her if Harvar wasn't present. After all Ox had essentially dedicated himself to Kim's survival and acceptance.

It was a rather foolish thing for Ox to do, although, to be sure, it was not uncharacteristic of him. He was such a driven man, dedicated to his studies, his friends, and most of all his duty. He was the kind of person Harvar could respect. Ever since Kim showed up, however, it seemed that his focus had become slightly skewed.

She had become his top priority. He was still dedicated to the mission that was given to him and Harvar, but it seemed that he was willing to throw it all away for her sake. A notion that proved to be true during the attack on Arachnophobia.

And even with Kim's true nature as a witch unveiled, Ox still continued to be devoted to her. That foolish dedication was going to get him killed.

Harvar watched with an impassive frown as his friend greeted the witch, before taking her hand and escorting her down the street. "Their on the move." Harvar murmured as he crossed his arms. "I better hurry if I want to follow them."

The young demon weapon turned away from the balcony only to find a pair of annoyed female eyes glaring at him. "You're never going to leave it alone, are you Harvar?"

Harvar returned the glare from behind his stylized shades "Has anything I've done in the last week led you to believe that I would, Jacqueline?"

"No. And the name's Jackie." Jackie retorted. "Why can't you just trust her?"

"She isn't my meister." Harvar replied "More over, she's a witch."

"A witch who has no urge to fall into the thrall of magic." Jackie shot back

Harvar remained impassive "A witch is a witch. Doesn't matter what kind."

Jackie shook her head "It's always black and white with you isn't it?"

"You can put it that way if you want." Harvar replied simply "It won't change how I think." He took a step to the side of the raven haired girl that stood before him, his dark frown ever present. "Now, I need to get going."

Jackie raised an arm, blocking Harvar's path. "I'm not finished with you yet."

"That's too bad." Harvar replied as he quickly slipped underneath the girl's outstretched arm "Because I'm through with you."

He continued forward, focused eyes beneath his visor, and a stolid frown to ward away any remaining students in the halls. He kept a feverish pace as he traversed the hallways, barely slowing down for corners and stairwells. Yet this apparently wasn't enough of a hint for Jackie, as her persistent steps followed Harvar around every corner, through every door, and down every stairwell he deigned to use. Her flustered breathes were reason enough for Harvar to keep up his pace as the young girl's fierce exhalations appeared to be more out of fervor than fatigue.

It appeared that she wasn't going leave him alone this time. Truth be told, it was unsurprising. The only reason he'd avoided her before was because she'd caught him following Ox and Kim in between classes. There wasn't enough time for her to really get started on her reprimand, but just enough time for Harvar to finish his surveillance before class started.

However, now with no classes for either of them to get to, Harvar knew he wouldn't be getting rid of her as easily as before. This was a fact that Jackie appeared to be quite aware of as she stepped in front of him when he was about to leave through the main entrance to the school.

Harvar scowled "I don't have time for this."

"Well you're going to make time." Jackie spat out "We have to talk. Now."

"I already know what you have to say." Harvar replied "And I already know my answer."

"I don't care." Jackie said tersely. "You're going to listen to me."

"Fine Jacqueline." Harvar replied exasperatedly. "Say whatever it is you need to say."

"It's Jackie." Jackie said darkly. "I know I won't change your mind through words. You've separated yourself so far from your own emotions that I doubt anyone other than Ox could sway you, and even he would have a hard time.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Harvar replied, crossing his arms.

"You do that." Jackie said as she rolled her eyes. "I know you don't trust Kim, and think that Ox is in danger."

Harvar was beginning to grow impatient. "That should be obvious."

"I also know that you're willing to exercise force if ever you feel Ox is threatened by her."

Harvar's frown deepened "Get to the point, Jacqueline."

"It's Jackie." Jackie replied dully "And my point is that I don't think you have the right to take that responsibility. She's my meister. If anyone should stop her if things go wrong—which they won't—it should be her partner."

"You?" Harvar snorted "You, the girl who left Shibusen and aided in Kim's return to the world of the witches? You who almost killed Ox in service of that witch? You who gave up her morals so that you might be better wielded by a witch in magic's thrall? I think not Jacqueline."

"For the last time, it's Jackie!" Jackie exclaimed, now on her last nerve "Now you listen and listen good, Harvar. I'm telling you right now, that if you so much as try to touch Kim, I will char you to a crisp, burn the remains the ground, and use the ashes to season your soul when I eat it."

"I see" Harvar replied, adjusting his visor slightly. If Jackie had been watching closely she'd have noticed his eyes gaining a slightly intrigued glimmer behind the darkened visor. "You could've said that in the first place."

Jackie crossed her arms in annoyance. "I was trying to be polite you ass."

"Don't be." Harvar replied. "You're not good at it." He then took a step to Jackie's left, shoving his hands into his pockets. "If that's it, I need to get going."

"We're not finished here Harvar." Jackie said darkly, turning to face Harvar as he made his way down the steps of Shibusen

"Yeah, I know." Harvar said over his shoulder as he continued down the steps. "But I've got places to be."

"Then so do I" Jackie rejoindered as she proceeded to follow the stern demon weapon. "I'm not leaving you alone until this is resolved."

"Thought you wouldn't." Harvar murmured to himself, as he continued on his way down the stairs.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

End Chapter One


	2. Sparks and Rain

I do not own Soul Eater nor do I intend to garner revenues from use of its characters

Ash and Thunder

By Reizod

---

Chapter 2: Sparks and Rain

---

For her survival

For her safety

For her joy

For her I will do whatever I must. Be it a task small or large, momentous or dull, good or evil, I will not abandon her. I am her friend, her confidant, her partner and her weapon. As long as she accepts me in these roles they will never change.

I'll guide her when the way is black, comfort her when it is bleak, and protect her when it threatens. As both lantern and shield to her, I will follow her down whatever path she may choose, be it to ruin or glory. For in the end, be it in joy or despair, I will persist as the one that she can always count on.

I will never betray her. Nor will I ever desert her. All who would destroy her will have me to deal with in every capacity that I can manage.

Because above all else she is my friend.

My name is Jacqueline O. Lantern Dupre'.

…

Call me Jackie.

---

Jackie found herself half jogging to keep up with Harvar as he weaved in and out of the streets and alleyways of Shibusen, his rapid gate retaining its constant rhythm against the cobblestone walks, stairs and throughways. So it was probably true that he had some pressing engagement he had to be at. No doubt it had something to do with Kim. That in itself was reason enough to follow him.

The question was, whether or not that something was the fact that he was going to kill Kim. Everything he'd said so far pointed to the willingness to do so. And if his performance during the raid on Arachnophobia was any indication, he was very capable of killing just about anything, regardless of how sweet and innocent it might be. It was doubtful that anything other than death or Ox could stop him when he selected a target.

Jackie would've been impressed if it weren't so unsettling.

"Well?" Harvar said as they turned a corner into yet another street, the sun casting the orange rays of its sunset upon Shibusen's stone masonry. "You wanted to talk didn't you?"

"Yeah" Jackie replied as she hurried to catch up to Harvar's side "I did."

"Then talk." Harvar said as they began to approach a roundabout.

Jackie clenched her fists at the statement, managing to reign in her anger at Harvar's rather rude manner. He could at least make some pretense at being personable. Apparently she didn't even rate that from him. Something; no, everything about that was rather irksome. Even so Jackie managed to keep her cool, albeit with gritted teeth and quite the annoyed scowl.

"Right" Jackie growled. She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath to relieve her tension. The action wasn't very effective as her tone was still harsh as she said. "I really don't trust you Harvar."

Harvar made a non-committal as he angled his walk to match the curvature of the roundabout. "You've been pretty clear about that."

"And you don't seem to care." Jackie muttered under her breath, managing to lower her tension level a bit more before speaking audibly. "I don't think you understand Harvar. I need to be able to trust you."

"Really." Harvar replied dully as they turned into another alley. "Why is that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Jackie said simply as she followed him in.

Harvar stopped halfway into the alleyway, cleaning his visor with his shirt as he scanned the alley. "Because Ox and Kim have become lovers? "

Jackie frowned. Harvar's tone was rather incredulous. "You don't think that's a good enough reason?"

"It's not my place to say." Harvar said as he knelt down and palmed the ground with his free hand. He kept his back to Jackie as he returned his visor to its perch with his other hand.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jackie asked as she watched the visored boy examine the ground. She crossed her arms and leaned her shoulder onto one of the alley walls, careful not to catch her hair in the crevice between her body and the alley's parapets.

"I don't have a very good concept of emotions like love and hate." Harvar said as he rolled up his right sleeve and picked something up off the ground with a very delicate touch. "I can't really comprehend the factors involved in such things."

"Why?" Jackie asked, leaning forward slightly. She was now genuinely intrigued, both by the stoic demon weapon, and the object that he was examining. Even leaning forward she could quite get a clear view of either.

Harvar stood as he held the object before his eyes with the tips of his fingers, adjusting its angle by varying degrees to better examine it. "Because I was trained to be a weapon."

Harvar turned to face Jackie, revealing the object in his hand to be the maggot ridden remains of an amputated finger. Horribly discolored and decayed, the thing looked like it had been rotting for months, if not years. The maggots inside of it didn't seem to care about that and it appeared that Harvar didn't care either, as he mulled the nasty thing about in the delicate grasp of his fingers, his visored gaze focusing heavily upon it. His voice was mildly introspective as he murmured. "The most effective weapon is emotionless."

Jackie found herself stifling a gag reflex at the sight, barely managing to maintain her perch on the alley wall. She shook her head disgustedly. "I don't know how you do that Harvar."

"Do what?"

"Be so..." Jackie started, trailing off into a resigned sigh "So cold. So unaffected."

For a moment, Jackie could've sworn she heard an amused chuckle from Harvar, although there was no visual indication of it in his rather indifferent facial expression. No doubt she was just imagining it. An uptight guy like him wasn't capable of that sort of emotion. At least, she'd never seen any indication of that capacity in him. A fact that was reinforced by Harvar's impassive expression as he replied "Practice."

If her stomach weren't trying to force its contents up her throat at the moment, Jackie might have laughed at the statement. She knew he wasn't trying to be funny but something about that just seemed so corny to her. Instead she covered her mouth with one hand as she held her stomach with the other, still managing to retain a somewhat dignified stance in the process. A somewhat strained "I see" was all she felt she could manage until her hurl-giggle urge died down.

"Hm." Harvar murmured in a slightly intrigued tone as he adjusted his visor with his free hand, allowing the maggot ridden finger to lay prone in the palm of the other. "Jacqueline?" Harvar asked, taking a step towards her.

"It's Jackie." Jackie managed, keeping her hand in front of her mouth.

"Whatever." Harvar replied with a slight edge of impatience as he then proffered the repulsive amalgamation of flesh, phalanges, and filth towards Jackie. "Do you notice anything about this?"

Jackie instinctively backed away from Harvar's hand, managing to resist the urge to slap it away. She almost blurted out a disgusted "No", however, when Harvar had brought it close to her she realized that there was something very familiar about it. Pushing her disgust aside for a moment, she moved closer to Harvar's hand, careful to keep at least a foot''s distance between her and it. And there it was, no mistaking it. "It has a soul wavelength."

"I thought so." Harvar said darkly "Look's like it came this way."

"It?" Jackie asked. "Harvar, just what have you been looking for this whole time?"

"I don't know what it is." Harvar answered as he casually brushed a few stray maggots off his forearm. "But it's been following Ox for some time now."

Jackie scowled "You're not referring to Kim are you?"

"No" Harvar said flatly. "Kim hasn't lost a thumb, left ear, or nose in the last week."

"You've found other rotting body parts?" Jackie asked incredulously.

"Yeah, all with the same wavelength as this one." Harvar replied "I have them in cold storage."

"Ick." Jackie said with a disgusted grimace "I didn't need to know that."

"It's obviously a zombie." Harvar continued as he produced a small baggie from his pants pocket. "But I think there's more to it than that."

"Why do you say that?" Jackie asked.

"If it were a normal zombie, I'd have found it by now." Harvar scowled as he slipped the rotten thing into the bag. "But something's hiding its wavelength from me."

Jackie's eyes narrowed slightly. A zombie who could hide its wavelength. There were a lot of things that were capable of that, even if one restricted it to zombified beings. Really, there probably wasn't anything to worry about. But she'd hate herself if it turned out to be what she was suspecting. Then again, she'd hate herself more if Kim got hurt and because she hadn't taken the time to find out for certain. Jackie swallowed "Give me the bag."

Harvar gave her a suspicious frown. "Just a moment ago you were gagging at the sight of it."

Jackie shot Harvar a dangerous glare as she growled. "Just give it to me."

Harvar cocked his head questioningly as he held out the bag for her to take, but said nothing as Jackie tentatively took the bagged flesh in hand. That was something Jackie was glad for. She knew from that that though he was certainly suspicious of her, he was at least willing to give her the benefit of a doubt. However, she could tell that he was watching her intently from behind that visor of his. Even if she knew such distrust was to be expected (considering her status as a witch's weapon) it still irked her that it was a cold enemy's gaze that bore through the shaded glass that hid his eyes and not those of an ally. For now though, she would have to put that aside.

Focusing on the rotten appendage, Jackie found the small sphere that represented its wavelength once more. It appeared to be a rounded radiant blue shard at first, however, as Jackie focused on the luminescent piece she found that the timbre of its glow became more reticent as various other divots and imperfections became visible to her. In moments, the true nature of the curvaceous shard was unveiled, no longer a rounded piece assumedly chipped from a much larger sphere, but now a rounded base with several tube like tunnels connecting to it. Maggots of several shapes and sizes were filing in and out of the tunnels, aimlessly wandering about until they took notice of Jackie's icy gaze, at which point, they stopped and began to shudder.

"This is bad." Jackie murmured as she closed her eyes, tightening her grip on the bag. "I know what he is."

Harvar, who'd been watching her patiently as she examined the thing crossed his arms as he asked. "You do?"

"Yeah" Jackie swallowed. "You were right about it being a zombie. But there's more to it than that."

No reaction registered on Harvar's face as he replied "Go on."

"It's got the capacity to do magic as well."

"A zombified witch"

"More like a mage."

"I see. That would explain the masking at least" Harvar said as he began to drum his digits on his forearm. "But how do you know that?"

"From the look of its soul." Jackie answered as she held the finger laden bag at arm's reach in front of her. "And if you want proof." Jackie continued as she reared her arm back. "Just watch." She preemptively swallowed a gag reflex knowing full well what would happen as she threw the worm infested appendage to the ground .

Before it hit however, the maggots inside of the finger all came out at once, puncturing the bag and layering themselves across the outside of the appendage to cushion its fall. As soon as they landed, the tiny creatures then began to carry their feculent abode out of the alley at an astounding rate. Much faster than Jackie had expected them to.

With a surprised and flustered "Crap!" Jackie rushed after the scuttling appendage as it rounded the corner, leaving a slightly bewildered Harvar in her wake. She'd explain it to him later. Right now she had to keep up with this thing. Maybe if she was quick, she could nip this in the bud before it got out of hand.

---

Harvar stood alone in the alley, an outstretched arm in the direction that Jackie ran off in, and his mouth open to call after her. He was slightly embarrassed that he didn't manage to yell for her to wait. Then again, this was probably better. Knowing her resolve, Jackie'd be able to follow the finger regardless of what it rushed through.

Question was, how exactly did Jackie know that much about the maggots and the thing that they apparently came from? One could certainly tell the distinction of a soul by looking at it, even if they only have a shard handy. However, one wouldn't know how the body of the soul would react, or what it was capable of in distinct terms, unless they saw the soul's body in action.

In that same vein, Harvar could only wonder who it was that was controlling the little grubs. He couldn't fathom what interest the controller could possibly have in Ox.

Harvar sighed as he shoved his hands into his pockets and started on his way out of the alley. He had a fair amount of questions that he wanted answers to, but for now, he'd have to settle for solving just this one:

"Where're you going, Jacqueline?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

End Chapter 2


	3. Fire and Lightning

I do not own Soul Eater nor do I intend to garner revenues from use of its characters

Ash and Thunder

By Reizod

---

Chapter 3: Fire and Lightning

---

The sun had long fallen to the darkness of night when Jackie arrived at the graveyard on the outskirts of Death City's suburban district. She was breathing heavily from following the seemingly tireless maggots all over town, routinely running over, though and under many gates, fences, and walls in the process.

Now, standing at the main entrance to the graveyard, watching the feculent finger scuttle its way into the depths of this home for the dead, Jackie allowed herself a moment's repose. Even if she lost the maggots she was following, she knew he was here. He always had a thing for graveyards

"Marco" she muttered as she propped herself up on the iron fence that enclosed the graveyard. "Come back to finish what you started?"

A dark gravelly whisper responded to her question. "Just taking what is due to me."

The voice seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. Jackie might've been intimidated if she wasn't already familiar with the trick. "Come on Marco. I know you're hiding here somewhere." She left the fence centering herself in the middle of the main path through the graveyard. "Stop talking with the grubs."

There was a moment's silence before a different, more human voice replied "You never knew how to have fun."

A moment later a casually dressed boy, who didn't look much older than Jackie peeked out from behind one of the larger gravestones. A layer of gauze was wrapped across his ears and nose, confirming to Jackie that he had indeed lost those parts of his body.

"Looks like you're falling apart there Marc." Jackie remarked with a slight smirk. "Life been hard on you?

"Only because you took Kim away from me."

"If I didn't she would've removed herself anyway." Jackie said darkly "You were eating her alive."

"Well she never said I couldn't."

"That's not the point."

"Then what is the point, oh guardian of the tanuki?"

"I'm not going to let you do it again."

Marco smirked as he walked out into the open, revealing the shriveled and discolored arm that was barely connected to the rest of Marco's body which, though in varying degrees of health and decay, was still far healthier than the arm. He stared down the raven haired girl who stood before him, grasping the belt loops of his pants as he began to shift back and forth, like an impatient child with a secret to tell. "Honestly, I didn't think you'd take it so hard. I mean it was just an arm. She eventually learned how to grow it back."

"Before or after the pain from you ripping it off of her?"

"You never could let a thing go."

"And you never understood the meaning of consequence."

Marco chuckled "I can't help it if some soul scientist reject messed up on making me immortal." He began to meander from grave to grave, drawing his hand across their varied tombstones. "My body's constantly dying. I need constant healing to keep myself alive."

"You could've asked her for that." Jackie deadpanned "She might have actually agreed to it."

"Or she could've said no." Marco replied "I was making sure the odds were in my favor. Besides," Marco continued as he took a seat on a tombstone. "I actually kind of enjoyed her screams. They reminded me of a dying canary."

"We have nothing more to talk about." Jackie snarled as she formed her lantern on the end of her right arm, bracing it like a cannon. "You won't get any mercy from me this time."

Hopping off the tombstone and centering himself as maggots began to spill out from his body on to his arms and legs, Marco's reply was simple. "Heh."

If the boy had any more to say after that, it could not be heard for the immense sound of the rushing flames that burst forth from Jackie's lantern arm. Marco had barely enough time to duck behind a tombstone as the flames berated the semi circular tablet with intense heat.

Jackie then intensified the flames from her lantern, bathing the tombstone and the area immediately surrounding it in fire. She didn't notice the veritable army of grubs encroaching behind her like a sentient white carpet. However, their presence became quite apparent to her when they attempted to grasp at her left leg.

With a horrified "Ick!" Jackie halted her burning tirade, forming the lantern in her left leg and flaring out with it, incinerating the hapless maggots that had attempted to incapacitate her. Turning back to face her adversary, Jackie found that a rotting forearm and fist were flying straight at her head. She barely managed to dodge the attack, ducking under the disembodied limb as it flew over her.

She only barely noticed the trail of grubs lagging behind it like a fleshy rope before they ensnared her stomach. Jackie could feel them biting and tugging at her skin as she manifested her lantern in her abdomen, incinerating the bugs as easily as before.

As she did this, another appendage rushed towards her, scuttling across the ground on the backs of maggots. It grasped her leg, much like the maggot carpet before it. However, as she manifested her lantern in her leg to burn the arm off, it did not let go. Far from it, it grasped even tighter, apparently attempting to crush her tibia through sheer force. Jackie grimaced, resisting the urge to reach down and attempt to wrench the thing off her leg. She knew that this, though debilitating, was just a distraction. Sure enough, another arm came flying through the air, this time aimed at her neck. Leaning to the side of the attack, Jackie manifested her lantern in her right arm once more, retaliating with an explosive backhand that sent the disembodied arm spiraling away from her.

Only moments after she did this, however, she felt something blunt striking the small of her back with a rather large amount of force, causing her to stumble forward with a pain filled grunt. Her gaze fell to the ground just long enough to see that a maggot chain had formed out of the forearms that was grasping her leg, before said leg was pulled out from under her, slamming Jackie's face into the ground. She growled in frustrated pain as she attempted to pick herself up off the ground.

Unfortunately, she was afforded no repose as something rather heavy and large landed on her back, crushing her back down to the ground. Though she couldn't quite see the thing that was holding her down, Jackie could tell what it was by its grating texture and enormous weight.

"Tombstone." Jackie hissed, her lungs and diaphragm constricted by the immense weight. She cursed as she felt one of her ribs crack under the duress

A pair of sneakers walked into view, followed by Marco's head as the maggot mage kneeled down to Jackie's level, revealing that both of his arms were currently cut off at the elbow, a maggot chain reeling itself into both stalks. "Sorry Jack, but I win today."

Jackie's response was to reform her lantern on her arm and fire at the arrogant brat, as she growled "It's Jackie."

"Yow!" Marco cried as his face and feet launched themselves upward to avoid the attack. Soon after he left Jackie's line of sight, Jackie felt more of her ribs cracking and popping as even more weight fell upon her back, making it nearly impossible to breathe. Soon afterward, Marco's voice sounded off from the approximate position of the newly added weight. "You never did know when to quit."

"Not—." Jackie struggled to speak, the combination of the ground against her mouth and the worsening state of her lungs making the task a very hard one. "Not where Kim is involved."

"Heh" Marco said "That'll at least make this entertaining." After he said this Marco began to chant, causing a veritable wave of grubs and filth to move into Jackie's line of sight, encroaching upon her at a steady rate.

"Get… away from… me" She hissed, barely bringing her lantern to bear on the maggot army and firing away at them with all her might. With every shot she fired, more of the nasty things would appear, and the pain in her chest was steadily growing, as the tombstone felt heavier and heavier against her back. She could hear Marco's sadistic laughter as he said "Will it be by maggot or by tombstone? I can't wait to find out."

The mage's laugh continued for a few seconds before it halted abruptly. This brief silence was followed by Marco's pain filled cry, as she saw his body fall into the bed of grubs and filth. She felt the weight of the tombstone slide off her back as a familiar voice asked "Can you stand, Jacqeuline?"

She smiled weakly as she allowed herself some time to catch her breath. "It's Jackie, you ass." She managed, propping herself up on her arms. She turned to face a stoic yet battle ready Harvar, his staff blade already formed on his arm. "I'll be up in a second."

"Don't rush it." Harvar said as he stepped forward towards the now prone Marco. "You're not in a condition to fight." Without another glance at Jackie, Harvar started on his way to Marco a rather dark expression on his visage. "Just let me do it."

Jackie shook her head as she continued to try and force herself to stand. "Be careful, Harvar."

---

Harvar frowned as he cautiously approached the maggot mage's prone body, weapon arm upraised. He wasn't quite sure of the situation, however, one thing was clear to him: This decaying boy was more than likely the thing that had been following Ox around town. And from Jackie's statement of "Not where Kim is involved." when Harvar had just arrived on the scene, confirmed Harvar's suspicions regarding her involvement. That still left the question of where Ox fit into all this, but that was a question for another less hectic time. Priority one went to protecting a fellow weapon of Shibusen.

This in mind, Harvar placed himself about five feet away from Jackie, with another ten feet separating him and the filthy cushion that Marco was lounging in. This position allowed him a fair amount of ability to protect her until she caught her breath. As soon as she did he would ask her to leave and cover her six on the way out. He wasn't sure how agreeable she'd be to such a plan, but he'd deal with that when he got there. For now he had to focus on buying her time.

"Marco right?" Harvar asked "You're the one who's been sneaking around Shibusen?"

Marco, picking himself up with his maggots, glared at Harvar. "You. I know you." Marco said "You've been following me."

"Answer the question."

"I bet you don't even know why I'm here."

"The fact that you're a mage and in Shibusen without anyone's permission is reason enough to suspect your intentions."

"Even if I said it was to finish Kim? She's a witch you know."

Harvar could hear Jackie piping up behind him, and gave her a mollifying gesture, keeping his eyes on the adversary before him. "I know that full well." Harvar said simply. "Suffice to say, it doesn't justify your presence here."

"I see." Marco replied "So she already has you in her thrall."

"That would be my meister's problem" Harvar said with ever so slight an upturn in the edge of his lips. "But that spell is less magical and more chemical in nature."

"So you would protect a witch?" Marco asked with a smirk "And her minion?"

Harvar shook his head. "I would protect a meister and her weapon, both outstanding students of Shibusen."

At this Marco smiled sadistically "Then let's see how well you do."

Immediately following his statement, Marco began an incantation, causing a section of the grubs that congregated at his feet to advance forward, splitting around Harvar and converging on Jackie.

Realizing what was happening, Harvar made a mad dash for Jackie, landing at her side in a kneeling position and immediately scooping her up into a fireman's carry.

"Ribs!" Jackie grunted as her sternum and rib cage were hoisted onto Harvar's shoulder.

"Just hold tight." Harvar said as he left the main path to blaze a trail through the graves on his right side. "We've got to move quick."

Harvar's path was wild and winding, hurdling both graves and streams of maggots as he padded his way through the graveyard. Even so after a few jumps, twists and turns, Harvar found himself surrounded by encroaching maggots his back to feeble gnarled tree that cast its winding shadow upon the scene.

A rather unsettling whisper came forth from the encroaching wave of sentient filth, like the voices of the damned. "You have nowhere to hide."

"Neither do you" Harvar said as he manifested his blade on his right arm and spun into a horizontal cut at the tree. The slice was awkward, considering that he had Jackie draped across his shoulders, but it did what he needed it to do: chop the tree down.

Harvar then stepped to the side of the toppling plant, and cried "Burn it Jacqueline!"

"It's Jackie, god damn it!" Jackie replied, forming her lantern on her arm and firing it into the tree as it fell. She kept a steady stream of flames going as Harvar turned about like a turret, allowing them to wash the area in flames, utterly destroying any grubs that dared enter their range of attack.

However, it seemed that they traded one predicament for another as they were both completely surrounded by steadily encroaching flames.

"Perhaps I didn't think that through." Harvar murmured as he scanned the area with his an impassive expression.

"You think?" Jackie said dully as she watched the flames flicker and billow, the smoke curling into the night sky like a ghostly behemoth, as the low crackling roar of the flames filled the air. "Pretty though." She moved her arm to bring her head closer to Harvar's as she whispered "You can put me down now."

"Right." Harvar said as he gently let Jackie off his shoulders and onto her feet.

Jackie winced as she slid off, holding her ribs as soon as she got her footing. "You could've used the bridal carry you know. Would've been easier on my ribs."

"The imbalance would've slowed me down." Harvar replied

"Sure it would've." Jackie said, rolling her eyes. "Anyways, it looks like we're stuck."

"Looks that way." Harvar concurred "At least there's no easy way out of this."

"No easy way?" Jackie asked hopefully. "But you've got an idea?"

"Maybe." Harvar replied holding his chin in thought. "I can only hope that the cross training worked."

Jackie gave him a befuddled look, that morphed into an intrigued expression, which then further metamorphosed into an inspired grin.

"Well." She said with a nod. "It couldn't hurt to try.

---

Marco stood alone, no more than thirty meters away from the immense flames that had risen from his maggot's chase. Marco chuckled as he watched the flames continue to spread across the graveyard. "Aww. I wanted to kill her myself. Oh well." He shrugged as he turned away from the ever growing wildfire. " I'll have to settle for Kim's death rattle instead."

He turned to walk away from the flames, but then heard the distinct sound of an explosion. No not an explosion. More like…

"A rocket?" Marco said incredulously as whirled about just in time to see thrown through the wall of flames, rolling out of the landing and putting out the fires that had alighted upon his clothing.

Marco laughed as Harvar picked himself up off the ground. "So it looks like you gave up on her anyway."

Harvar said nothing as he pulled something that looked like a chain taunt in with his left hand, his right hand holding the other end that had a lantern affixed to it.

Marco's expression became distinctly less confident when he realized what exactly it was that he was looking at. "Oh no."

It was Harvar's turn to smile in a sadistic manner as he responded "Oh yes."

With that he aimed the lantern behind him, an explosion of flames firing out the back and launching him forward towards Marco, who raised a shield of grubs to block Harvar's charge. Harvar however, had expected this reaction, already aiming the lantern ahead of him and firing a continuous stream, burning up the wall of filth.

As the wall fell away, Harvar found that the only thing left of Marco behind it was a disembodied arm, on a small mat of filth and maggots. Knowing what this meant, Harvar turned about just in time to see another severed arm fly towards him on a tether. Harvar just managed to catch the arm in the chains of the lantern as he ducked out of the way of it.

"Take care of it Jackie." Harvar said as he let go of the lantern.

"Right" came Jackie's voice as she formed out of the lantern, keeping her chain wrapped around the arm. She then burned its tether to ashes and slammed the arm hard into the ground, then showering it in flames for good measure.

Meanwhile, Harvar found that the other arm had latched onto his leg and was producing an army of maggots presumably to engulf him. He wasn't quite quick enough to stop them from engulfing his legs, however, he did manage to form his lightning blade on his hand and stab the severed arm and followup with a debilitating jolt of electricity, which paralyzed the attacking limb and the many bugs that were connected to it.

However, the arm recovered quite quickly from the stun, not releasing Harvar's leg as a trail of maggots connected to it and pulled Harvar's legs out from under him. He hit the ground hard, as Jackie hurried to his side, only to get caught in the back of the neck by a concentrated ball of grubs and filth. She fell beside Harvar, flailing about to get the nasty things off.

That was when Marco himself appeared practically brimming with grubs, maggots and filth. "Well that was entertaining." He said as he caused formed a massive fist out of the grubs that were crawling all over his body. "But I'm afraid it was too little too late."

It was at that moment that Jackie returned to her weapon form, as Harvar, rolled over to her, just in time to aim a blast upward at the falling fist, punching through it with a brilliant stream of flame. Then, before Marco could even balk in surprise, Harvar sprung off the ground into an explosive overhead slam crushing Marco into the ground. The maggot mage could only start a cry in pain as Harvar followed up with a pinpoint stab to the heart followed by a jolt of electricity to paralyze and halt his enemy's cardiovascular system.

Harvar held his position as Jackie returned to human form and took the opportunity to pull the arm of Harvar's leg.

"You'd never guess this was the healing arm, the way he was throwing it around." Jackie said as she went about the business of incinerating it. "Not that he has any use for it now."

Harvar twisted his blade hand before pulling it out. "Better to be safe than sorry."

---

The next morning Harvar was standing on one of the many balconies of Shibusen, waiting for the day to begin. The school grounds were sparse, although he could see Ox down there, waiting for Kim to appear. Sid had and Nygus had appeared soon after Harvar and Jackie had finished their fight the night before and went about the business of putting out the fire. The happening, as per Harvar's request, was to be kept under wraps. He preferred not to be known as the student who could both be a weapon and wield one at the same time.

So here he stood, like any other day, the sun grinning in the east, and the students filing about like ants below. Well, one thing was different.

"I thought you were done with surveillance, Harvar." Came Jackie's voice from behind him.

Harvar shook his head. "With an incident like that, it makes more sense to tighten security than to loosen it."

Jackie smiled and shook her head. "That's just like you." She moved to stand beside him, casting her own gaze upon the world below. "So you still think Kim's a threat?"

Harvar sighed "Everything has its threatening points. Including myself. However," He then took off his visor for a moment and gave Jackie a lopsided smile. "That doesn't stop them from being my friends."

Jackie was speechless for a moment, unsure of what had just happened. Harvar on the other hand casually replaced his visor and impassive expression upon his visage and turned to head back into Shibusen.

"Don't be late for class Jacqueline."

"Its Jackie" Jackie murmured with a smile as she took one last look at sunrise. "You ass."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

End Chapter 3


End file.
